Egypt passes law shielding senior military officers from prosecution

0
187
FILE PHOTO: Members of the Egyptian parliament attend a session at Egypt’s parliament in Cairo February 26, 2012. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo

 

CAIRO: Egypt’s parliament on Monday passed a law that could make senior military officers immune from future prosecution tied to violence which followed the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Mursi.

The law grants President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi the right to name officers who are eligible for rewards that include ministerial benefits and immunity from investigation for any offences committed from July 3, 2013 until June 8, 2014, the period from Mursi’s overthrow to Sisi’s first day as president.

Hundreds were killed when security forces broke up a sit-in at Cairo’s Rabaa Square in support of Mursi in August 2013, in one of the bloodiest events in Egypt’s recent history.